


Read the cues

by Shiggysssidedish



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: But he’s a sweetie, Crushes, F/M, He has a crush but his brain can’t process it lol, Oblivious Ushijima Wakatoshi, Pining Ushijima Wakatoshi, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Tendou is best boy, Ushiwaka is terrible at feelings lol, You and Tendou are manga besties basically
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-14 00:14:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29909211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shiggysssidedish/pseuds/Shiggysssidedish
Summary: Ushijima isn’t the best at expressing himself which makes for some awkward situations.
Relationships: Ushijima Wakatoshi/Original Female Character(s), Ushijima Wakatoshi/Reader
Kudos: 8





	1. Attempt 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there 👋. I’m still getting used to writing in second person and I’m more comfortable with OCsso you’re an established character

“Peach head!” You waved at the grinning red head as you stepped into the Shiratorizawa gym.

”Hello Tendou. I was asked by Rin to drop off your math books” you held the textbooks out to him.

“I always forget! Thanks peach head!” He grinned and grabbed the books,”Say,how bout you stay behind and I’ll walk you to your dorm after practice?”

You shifted uncomfortably on the spot,”I dunno. Second years aren’t really allowed to stay too long if their club isn’t meeting”

”Oh come on” he waved his hand dismissively,”It’ll be quick”

You didn’t have the heart to tell him the actual reason you didn’t want to stay.

”Okay” he grinned and pulled you to an unoccupied bench. You could already feel the stare on you.

Ever since you first stepped into the gym to meet your friend,you always felt the icy stare. At first you waved at him,opening yourself up for conversation but he just stared so you learnt to avoid it.

You brought it up to Tendou but he just laughed and said “Thats just how he is” and quickly changed the subject.

And It wasn’t any different today. Dark green eyes were fixated on you. You were too afraid to look up from your hands on your lap,silently wishing you had longer hair to hide your face. Stupid buzz cut.

To your relief,practice was soon over and a sweaty Tendou ran up to you.

”Miss me?” He said cheekily

”Pfft no” You stood up and straightened hole skirt,ignoring the intense stare,”Can we go now?”

He nodded,”Lemme just to talk to Ushiwaka” he skipped over to the captain who’s eyes were firmly fixed on you, even as Tendou spoke to him.

You looked around the gym, eyes trying to focus on anything but him. Your gaze caught a certain blue haired first years and you waved,stifling a laugh at how red his face got.

”Peach head!” You looked over to see Tendou waving at you,”C’mere”

You took a deep breath and made your way over to them,”Hello Ushijima” you greeted the giant of a man

”Hello” he said simply,of course he didn’t know your name.

”Oh don’t be so awkward peach head” Tendou nudged your shoulder lightly.

”M’not!” You protested but quickly looked down at your sneakers,”M’Just not feeling well” you lied,hoping it would make him move faster.

“If you’re not feeling well,I have some medicine in my bag” your head snapped up to Ushijima. This was the first time he ever spoke to you in the three months you’ve been appearing , but his face still had the same stoic expression.

”Well aren’t you helpful Ushiwaka?” Tendou tapped his friends shoulder

“Um,no thank you. I’m fine” why was your face so hot?

”As you wish. Maybe you should be getting to your dorm before curfew”

You felt your face heat up at his considerate words.

”Y-yes,you’re right” but your feet refused to move.

”Peach head. You should see how red your face is” Tendou chortled and grabbed your hand,pulling you towards the exit.

”Bye Ushiwaka” he waved a hand at him.

”B-bye” you looked back and gave a small smile and wave,almost swearing you saw a smile when he waved back.


	2. Attempt 2

The cafeteria was always almost empty this late in the afternoon,just how you liked it.  
Basketball practice ended early so you decided to grab some food and Tendou immediately saw you and ran to sit down.

You picked at your friedrice as you listened to Tendou talk about the latest manga he read but you were hardly listening. As much as you loved Tendou,he tended to rant.

”.......and then he just swoops in and stabs the dragon dude”

”I thought the dragon dude was a good guy?” you said through a mouthful of rice,proud of yourself to at least remembered that part.

”Thats what we thought!” He exclaimed happily and went back to explaining.

A few more minutes passed of ranting when suddenly a “Hey Ushiwaka” made you nearly choke.

”Hello Tendou. Tendous friend” you were too afraid to look up.

”Have a seat!” Tendou gestured to the empty space on your left.

”Some practice today huh? You should’ve seen him peach head,he was unstoppable!” Tendou bragged about his friend.

You nodded slowly and tried your best to keep eating.

”I see you’re also left handed” you looked up to see Ushijima staring at your hand clutching the spoon.

”W-what?”

”You are using your left hand to eat. I am also left handed” 

You blinked dumbly a few times,”Oh. Oh yes. Actually I’m ambidextrous”

He stared at you so you explained further,”My dad wanted to correct my left handedness as a kid but I just learnt to use my right to throw everyone off”

”That’s quite fascinating” he said simply and went back to eating his food.

You felt a bit of warmth creep into your chest and you looked up at Tendou who was wiggling his eyes brows smugly.

 _’Shut up’_ you mouthed to him 

“I didn’t even say anything!” He exclaimed and it took everything in you not to hit him with the plastic tray.


	3. Attempt 3

“Good game ladies. Head on over to the dorms and shower” your captain smiled at all of you.

”I can’t believe we lost” you friend Riku sighed and brought her bottle to her lips.

”It was a four on four. You’re acting like we lost an actual game” you laughed and took a swig from your own bottle.

”Okay but if we suck now,who’s to say we won’t suck then” you rolled your eyes at her dramatics.

You looked over to see a few of the volleyball boys entering the gym including Ushijima.

Immedietely his eyes fixed on you with his signature stare and you just stared back.

”That Ushijima is so weird” Riku followed your stare.

”I don’t know. I think he’s kinda cute” you blushed and broke your stare to pick up your duffel bag.

”That may be true. But he’s so quiet and serious. He’s like _‘Look at me. I’m the captain and I’m a tall beefcake that never says anything ever’”_ she mocked his deep voice making you snort.

”Come on. Let’s go get ready for prep” you made your way over to the main door.

”Excuse me?” You turned around and met Ushijimas intense stare. When did he get so close?

”Yes?”

”Tendou said to give you this” he held out the latest issue of a manga you were both reading.

”Oh. Thank you” you took it from him and stuffed it in your bag,”I’ll see you later”

”What’s your name?”

Riku let out a small squeak.

”My....name?” The question caught you off guard.

”Tendou calls you peach head but I assume that is not your name” you held in your laugh as best as you could.

”No. my names Imasama Rita” 

“My name is Ushijima Wakatoshi” he introduced in his deadpan voice you found so endearing.

”I know”

”Oh” you could’ve sworn he was pouting.

“I’ll see you later Ushijima” you waved at him as you walked away with Riku.

”Oh my gosh. You didn’t tell me you had a thing with him!” Riku squealed when you were outside.

”I don’t!” You squealed back

”So why was he looking at you like the last mochi ball in the store” she smacked the back of your shaved head lightly.

“Wait what?” 


	4. Attempt 4

You ran your hand through your hair. The usual close to your scalp hairstyle had now grown out slightly and reached the top of your ears and the peach colour had faded and your dark brown natural colour was starting to grow out.

It was time for a haircut.

You packed the supplies into your backpack and made your way out of your dorm to the one person who actually seems to enjoy the task of doing your hair.

“Hey not-so-peach head” Tendou ruffled your short hair,”Feels like a carpet”

”Ha ha funny” you rolled your eyes and pushed past him. His dorm was of course immaculate on account of Ushijima being his roommate. You set the backpack on the ground and pulled out the clippers.

”Where’s Ushijima?” You mentioned his absence as you plugged in the clippers.

”Jogging” he pulled out the tub of bleach and the toner.

You pouted at his absence but on the bright side you could at least take off your shirt.

Tendou put a towel down on the ground next to the bed and sat down.

You handed him the clippers and sat on the ground.

”Maybe you should grow it out” he ran a large hand over your short curls,”It’s kinda cute”

You hummed in thought at the idea of having long hair again,”Meh. I like the buzzed look more”

He shrugged and ran the clippers right down the middle. You immediately felt the cool air hit your scalp and sigh.

He ran the clippers through your head over and over,the short locks falling over your shoulders and onto the towel.

”Alright we’re done” he rubbed your now fuzzy head.

It was time for the bleach. Tendou snapped on the gloves and mixed the bleach up as you sat picking out clumps of hair from your sports bra.

”Ready?” He sat behind you

“Yup”

The brush ran through your head and you shivered at the scratchy feeling.

It was a quick process and now you were waiting for the bleach to develop.

You rinsed out the mixing bowl and placed it carefully in your bag.

”I brought snacks” you pulled out a family sized bag of chips and sat next to him on the floor.

”You’re definitely my favourite second year” he grinned and grabbed the bag from you.

”Don’t finish it!” You leaned forward to grab the bag but he leaned back.

“Youre Gonna have to pry it from my cold dead hands” he cackled.

You fell on him as you reached for the bag.

You froze when the door opened and in stepped Ushijima.

Your eyes met dark green ones and a stoic expression.

”Hi Ushiwaka!” Tendou looked up at him.

”I’m sorry for interrupting” Ushijima stared at you.

Your face burned red at the compromising situation. You were basically nearly straddling Tendou trying to get the bag in your sports bra and loose sweatpants.

”You’re not interrupting because we’re not doing anything right peachy?” Tendou said happily.

”Um....no” you said meekly,silently wishing you would combust.

“You okay Peach? You looking a little red there” Tendou brought his had up to your forehead.

You realised you were still on top of Tendou and quickly scrambled off him.

”Thanks for your help Tendou. I’m gonna go!” You picked up your backpack.

”But what about-“

You shook your head and ,”I can do the rest myself” you said too loudly and pushed past Ushijima and stepped into the hallway,shutting the door behind you.

You stood behind the door and smacked your cheek a few times. 

“He saw me! On top of Tendou!” You silently screamed.

You brought a hand up to your hair and cringed at the paste.

You looked down and nearly screamed when you saw you were still in your sports bra. There was no way you could go get your shirt now!

You thought quickly on how you could get back to your floor without being noticed when suddenly the door opened behind you.

Ushijima stepped out and looked surprised to see you.

”You forgot your shirt” he handed you the neatly folded T-shirt.

You felt tears of embarrassment work their way up to your eyes. You gingerly took the T-shirt from him,”T-thanks” you bowed slightly and rushed off.

Ushijima watched you rush down the hallway in confusion. He was a little upset to see you on top of Tendou but he knew from the countless questions he asked his roomate about you that there was nothing going on.

He made a mental note to ask you to lunch next time.


	5. Attempt 5

You avoided the gym for a week after the dorm incident.

You still met with Tendou in the lunch hall for your bi-weekly manga exchange or he came to your dorm much to Rikus annoyance that the flamboyant redhead basically took up the whole space.

You sat at your desk and finished a few notes when a book slammed down on the table,making you jump.

”Peachy!”

You sighed,”Hello Tendou”

The red head pulled up a chair and sat across you,”What’s up?”

”Finishing up some physics notes” you kept your eyes glued on the page but you could feel Tendous stare.

”Tomorrow’s Saturday. Do you still wanna go to the book store with me?”

”Well of course. There’s an Eren funko pop I’ve been meaning to get anyway” you smiled at him.

”Fun! Oh and Ushiwakas gonna come too”

You nearly snapped the pen in half,”What!”

He snickered,”Yeah I told him we were going and he said ‘ _sounds interesting. I would like to join you_ ”he mocked in his scarily accurate Ushijima voice.

”Oh my God” you groaned and dropped your head to the table. The person you were avoiding for this long was now going to be with you a whole day.

”Don’t worry peach head. It’ll be like he’s not even there” he rubbed your head gently.

🏐🏐🏐🏐  
  


Riku seemed to be having way too much fun teasing you about the awkward situation.

”Ooohhhhh. It’s a date” she teased and blew kisses at you from her top bunk.

You rolled your eyes and pulled your hood over your head,”Shut up. It’s not even like that” 

She twirled a braid with her pointer finger,”Well he’s already seen you in your bra,might as well call it that”

”Whatever. I’ll be back in time for prep. Later dude” you waved as you walked out the door.

You stepped out of the dorm building and immediately saw Tendous fiery red hair. He was talking excitedly to a very stoic looking Ushijima.

”Hey” you waved at them.

”Ready to go peach?” Tendou draped a long arm over your shoulders.

”I guess”

”And how about you Ushiwaka?”

”Yes” 

A man of few words.

”Awesome. The three amigos! Let’s go!” He pulled you towards the gates.

  
The store wasn’t far from your school. Just down the hill and make a left but it felt like forever with how nervous you were with Ushijima around.

He listened as Tendou ranted about some random volleyball stuff and you wondered if he was even paying attention to the word vomit Tendou was spewing.

You kicked your feet and twiddled with your fingers inside your hoodie pocket,fixated on counting the cracks in the pavement.

You didn’t notice when Tendou stopped talking.

”Peach!” Your head snapped up.

”Huh? What?”

”Ushiwaka wants to tell you something” Tendou grinned

”Oh I’m sorry,what was that?” You turned to the taller man.

”You are very good at basketball” he said simply.

”Oh” you blinked at him,”Thank you”

”What position do you play?”

”Point guard” you said proudly 

His lips pressed into a thin line, “Unfortunately,I don’t know what that means”

You chortled at his cluelessness,”Think of it as the basketball equivalent of the setter in volleyball”

You watched the gears in his head turn and finally his eyes shone with understanding,”That’s very important. Can you tell me more?”

“Sure!” You grinned

Tendou nodded approvingly. His plan was working.

The small bell tinkled announcing your presence.

”Hey Haru” Tendou walked up to the counter and fistbumped the young man.

”How’s it going guess monster?”

Tendou put his hands behind his head,”Not bad. Just here for some new comics”

Haru peered at you through his long bangs, “What’s up peach fuzz?”

You rolled your eyes at the nickname, “Fine and dandy mop top. Just here for the Funko Pop”

Haru sucked in a breath,”Sorry dude. I sold it”

You whined at that,”But I told you I’ll be back for it! I saved up all month for that”

“Sorry” Haru shrugged and it took everything in you not to kill him.

”Sorry peachy” Tendou gave you a sympathetic smile.

Ushijima patted your back gently, “I’m sure there are plenty others you would like” you smiled at his attempt to comfort you.

”Let’s just get the comics ” you walked sadly to the shelves.

Ushijima thumbed through a few sports magazines but barely paid any attention to them. He was watching you pick through a few mangas on the shelves.

You still had a small frown on your face as you read through a copy of Chainsaw Man.

You put it under your armpit and continued to look through the options.

His eyes drifted down to your bare legs. Your hoodie rested mid thigh and swallowed your lean figure up,hiding the black biker shorts underneath.

He noticed a few bruises he assumed was from basketball and pouted. Maybe he could convince you to use a special ointment for that.

Tendou rounded the corner and patted his shoulder,”See something you like Ushi?” He eyed the magazine in his friends hands.

Ushijima looked down at his hands then back to you now squatting to get to the lower shelves.

”Yes actually. I do”

Haru rung up the items quickly and you waved at him as you left. You settled on a new copy of Chainsaw Man and a AOT keychain. It wasn’t what you wanted but it’ll have to do.

Tendou flipped through his new book excitedly as you all walked up the hill again.

Ushijima noticed the small pout on your face, “Sorry about your toy”

You shook your head,”It’s fine,it’ll be on sale again in a couple months hopefully” you were doubtful about that since it was the last one in the store.

The rest of the walk was spent in silence. Even when you got to school,the setting sun turning the large campus a bright orange.

”I’ll see you guys later” you gently punched Tendous shoulder as a goodbye.

”Have a god night” Ushijima waved as Yule walked away.

Once You were out of earshot,Tendou smirked at his friend,”Soooooo?”

Ushijima blinked at him and Tendou sighed,

”You’re a hopeless romantic Ushi” 

“It’s not my intention” he said honestly 

“I know buddy, Let’s to get ready for prep” 

“Tendou. That toy she wanted,can you help me find it online?”

Tendou went to prep with the biggest grin on his face.


End file.
